We really enjoyed seeing The King's Speech this morning at the Downtown Disney AMC theaters. It had been getting great reviews from all of our friends who saw it, and it's nominated for a lot of Academy Awards. I hope it wins a few because it was excellent.
After the movie, we managed to find Cohen's Butcher and Deli. It's not too far from Disney World, near Clermont. It's a small restaurant with a pretty extensive menu. There was a small case of kosher meat and some sides, so we bought some skinless, boneless chicken breasts for dinner tonight. I had a hot pastrami sandwich on rye bread. Oh, it was delicious. We also learned that they have a deal with the nearby show, Arabian Nights. The man who owns that show is Jewish! If you tell them you want a kosher meal, Cohen's brings it to the show. Choice of grilled salmon, veggie burger, grilled steak, or baked chicken with mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, and dessert, plus all the beer and wine you want. Amazing! We are seriously going to that!
My PET scan is at 8 a.m. tomorrow, and the diet for it is high protein, super low carb. I was allowed the two slices of rye bread, but other than that the only carbs are the little bit in a green salad and some broccoli that I ate with the chicken for dinner. I bought some cheddar and Swiss cheese blocks to eat as a snack later tonight while I watch TV. We were going to go to a Super Bowl party in the neighborhood, but we lost interest when I realized I couldn't eat or drink anything there. I can only have water and non-caffeine diet soda all day. Not even decaf coffee is allowed. Also there was to be no strenuous exercise. I was amused that "mopping the floor" was listed as strenuous.
I have never had a PET scan. It sounds like it will be OK, but it's long and tedious. I'll be injected with a radioactive glucose, which takes an hour or so to circulate through the body. Cancer cells pick up glucose more than regular cells, so that's how they find them on the scan. Other than that, it's just laying in a tube for an hour. I don't think it will find any cancerous tumors, but I guess you never really know. I will be interested in the results, and I'll let you know the results.
I have not been writing down my food or counting my calories since I got home. I am much more active than I was in MD, but I probably eat enough to compensate for that. Since I am now almost four weeks out of chemo, it's amazing to me how much healthier I feel. I really feel every bit my old self, but I don't have the endurance or strength back yet. I didn't weigh in on Tuesday because I was at the hotel in Savannah, GA that morning. I will definitely weigh in this Tuesday morning. I am sure I have not gained any more, but I'm also not expecting a loss since the last posted weight. Both my new oncologists said that my 25 pound gain on chemo is not atypical and that I should not worry about it. I worry about it anyway.
My new radiation oncologist said that I must never lift more than 10 pounds with my left arm the rest of my life. That seriously dampens the use of the weight lifting machines. Mark and I went to the Palms yesterday and did some machines. He was excited to get back on them because he also has lost strength and muscle mass while we were in MD. I did the four machines for arms that I had done before, but I put the weight at 10 pounds. Since I can never increase this weight, I can only work on increasing reps and sets. Yesterday I did two sets of 10 on each machine. I also rode 5 minutes on the recumbent bicycle. I find that machine quite comfortable, so I hope to work up to a lot more time on it little by little. Today my leg muscles were sore from just those five minutes.
We have to leave at 7 a.m. to head to the PET scan, and I think we'll be out by 11 a.m. If the weather is nice, we are going to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom. If it's raining, and it probably will be, we will put it off until Wednesday. If we don't go to MK, then I'll go home and try to get some work done in the house. We really haven't done much to get anything else unpacked yet. I will also go back to the Palms for more exercise tomorrow afternoon.
Meanwhile the Super Bowl half time show is on. Quite a spectacle, I must say.
I hope the PET scan goes well tomorrow. I think that I have had 3 in the past few years and they were long but not a bad test. It is interesting that you have dietary restrictions. I will remember that because I was never given dietary restrictions for my PET scans. I'm wondering if the oncologists in Florida are a little more on the ball than those in Des Moines Iowa. Anyway if I have another PET scan I will remember those restrictions and follow them myself.
ReplyDeleteIt is wonderful that you are feeling like your old self again. With all of the exercise you are doing I am sure that your endurance and strength will come back soon. You are an inspiration to me with your exercise. I have really been slacking off on exercise lately for no reason at all. I will get started tonight and do some Wii programs I think.
I hope that you get to have some fun at the Magic Kingdom tomorrow. Have a good night.
I should plan some time to do some Wii games also. Mark's having fun with Epic Mickey but I haven't done anything. It's weird that you had PET scans without the diet. I don't really understand it too much, but I looked some stuff up online and the restrictions there were the same as in the pamphlet they gave me. I really did eat too much cheese today, so this diet would be really bad for my cholesterol if I kept it up!
ReplyDelete